Déjà Vu
by BlueGreenApples
Summary: Post-Cannon.SasuSaku. Rin and Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke. History just keeps repeating itself. Rated for violence and strong language.
1. Déjà Vécu

Déjà Vu

Chapter 1: Déjà Vécu

* * *

Konoha was a vision in the springtime. Ancient sakura trees were laden heavily with their beautiful blossoms, boughs dipping to line the streets and walkways with a rosy curtain. Their contrast against the bright blue sky was something to be seen. Even less opulent plant life added to celebration of nature. New, green leaves and the scent of early blooming flowers perfumed the streets of the Village. Everywhere, the citizens were preparing for a festival in honor of the rebirth of life all around them. 

A girl with hair to match the riot of flowers overhead was strolling slowly down a lane lined by the trees that had inspired her namesake. Sakura Haruno was twenty-two years old and utterly disgusted with her life. As she turned her leaf-green eyes up to the swaying branches above her, she studied the flora she'd been named for. She drew in a deep breath and reaffirmed the events that had led her to her decision to leave the Konohagakure.

Her early days with Team Seven seemed a lifetime ago. She'd studied as hard as she could at the academy, becoming revered for her intelligence. Once she was assigned her cell, she had fallen head-over-heels for the boy who was still the root of her problems now. Her blind devotion for him had pushed her to excel once he'd defected to Sound, promising herself that one day she'd be able to bring him back.

It hadn't happened that way. Instead, Sakura had still been training under her beloved Tsunade-shishou when the last Uchiha returned to the Village of his own accord. He was fresh from his final showdown with his brother, Itachi. When the dust had settled, Sasuke had been the victor. Familiar anger settled in her chest when she acknowledged that he'd come back home more out of habit and lack of anywhere better to go, rather than true love for Hidden Leaf.

The Godaime had been lenient in his case, as he was the last heir to one of the greatest clans of Konoha. A year of monitoring and probation had gone quickly, and soon he flew through the Chuunin, Jounin and ANBU exams. Passing with flying colors, of course. He had settled back into the Uchiha District, slowly but surely renovating his family home between missions. The dark man joined his former teammates for the occasional sparring session or dinner, but for the most part lived a solitary existence. His quiet life showed no signs of changing and Sakura was tired of waiting. She was through begging for any scrap of attention Sasuke would toss her way.

Settling her gaze to the stone pathway before her, Sakura outlined her proposition for the Hokage. She wanted to leave the Village. It was her turn to wander the world, as both Naruto and Sasuke had been able to do with their Sannin sensei. Rolling her shoulders, she felt the two scrolls on her back shift. They were proof enough. One summoned her signature battleaxe, the other her slug companion Katsuyu. Sakura, under the tutelage of Tsunade, had become the most powerful kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf.

She was ready to strike out on her own. Make her own mistakes, learn her own lessons. This was her time.

Her pale features set into firm lines as she reached the Hokage's building and her determination remained as she disappeared inside.

* * *

A slouching figure watched with a lazy stare as Sakura passed absentmindedly by his resting place on a wide bough. His silvery eyebrow raised when she paced by without even a wave. Of course, his presence was concealed, but that shouldn't have tricked his brightest student for more than a millisecond. With dawning realization and dread, Kakashi envisioned the expression on the woman's face as she passed by beneath him. 

It was a strange mix of nostalgia, anger, longing and determination. Her delicate face was so expressive that it all played out before his single eye with startling clarity. Like a broadcast or a beacon through fog. It was unmistakable. His fears were only solidified when he hung deftly from the branch, mentally following the path Sakura had taken through the garden. She was headed for the Hokage.

Kakashi knew what was happening. He knew with a certainty that made his stomach roll and bile rise in his throat. His only female student was leaving the Village. She didn't know it yet, but she wasn't coming back. But he knew. He knew.

Without another second of hesitation, the wizened elite-Jounin disappeared in a puff of smoke. He was going to stop his foolish students from making the biggest mistakes of their lives.

* * *

A loud snore could be heard even before Sakura opened the door to enter the Hokage's office. Rolling her eyes, she stepped inside and allowed the heavy wood panel slam with excessive force. 

The figure at the desk's head shot up with a snort. "'M awake, Hinata! I promise!" Quickly swiping a sleeve across his face to erase any traces of drool, Naruto's blue eyes landed finally on the exasperated pinkette.

His face lit up. "Sakura-chan!" He sprang up from his seat, hurdling his messy desk and bounding over to his former teammate.

As he wrapped her in an enthusiastic hug, he exclaimed, "I haven't seen you in weeks! You're always so busy at the hospital and--"

Sakura smiled ruefully and mumbled into her friend's shoulder. "I resigned."

Still beaming, Naruto replied, "Oh, that's great! I--Wait, you what?" Pulling the petite girl back to look at her, he asked, "Why would you resign? You love your job!"

"I gave my position to Tsunade-shishou." Sakura smiled fondly, "She was going insane, sitting at home with nothing to do. Shizune's still around to help her, so the hospital will be fine."

Grinning reluctantly, the young Hokage nodded. After patting Sakura's upper arms, he stepped back. "But what will you do now that you've left the hospital?"

The woman watched as Naruto's eyes darkened with understanding and anticipation. Her friend had come a long way and was much wiser than he had been when they were young. She had the feeling that he knew what she was going to say.

Sakura squared her shoulders and delivered the speech she'd been planning for the past three months. "I want to be allowed to wander as a kage-level Sannin. I no longer feel that my presence is required in Konoha and wish to seek my own ambitions."

For a full five minutes, Naruto said nothing. He stood, fists braced on the lip of his desk and his head bowed. At last he raised his head and spoke, "And what would you pursue?"

Sakura paused. She hadn't really considered that. "I...I would assist small civilian villages as a traveling medical specialist and--"

Scrubbing a hand over his face, Naruto interrupted, "Tell me that this isn't over Sasuke, Sakura." He locked his eyes onto her surprised ones and vowed, "If you can tell me that, than you can go. If that's what you truly want."

Sakura steeled her features. "I won't lie to you, Naruto. He's part of the equation." Before the Hokage could speak she hurried to finish. "But I just feel like...You and Sasuke, you got the opportunity to see the world. I didn't. I was here, in Konoha, waiting like a good little kunoichi." Fisting her hands, she spoke passionately, "I want my turn! I want to be able to see something besides these walls. I think I deserve that. Don't you?" She began in a near yell, but ended close to a whisper.

The blonde sighed heavily and studied his former teammate. Leaning against his desk, he crossed his arms and began, "Yes, Sakura. You do deserve that." He raised a hand when she beamed and made to approach him, "But I don't think that you want this for the right reasons. I think...that you want a painless solution to all of the problems you have pressing on you right now. And I think that if you walk out of those gates right now," he pushed off of the side of his desk to walk to his stunned friend and gather her hands into his, "that there's a very good possibility that you won't come back."

Dipping his face to look into hers, he smiled sadly. "You know that's the last thing I want. That anyone here wants." Bouncing her palms a little in his to convey his excitement, he added, "Hinata is due any day now and I hoped that you'd be the Godmother." At the sight of the slight girl's teary face, Naurto pulled her into a tight hug. "Please don't cry, Sakura. You know I hate it when you do."

In a watery voice, Sakura pleaded into her life-long friend's chest, "Naruto, I'd love to be your child's Godmother. I really would. I just--I have to get away! I don't know what else to do! I _tried_, I tried so hard...but--"

Smoothing his hand over Sakura's silk-clad back, Naruto inhaled and said softly, "If you promise me," he pulled her back to look into her eyes, "Promise me you'll come back, Sakura. And you can go."

A bright smile shone through the pinkette's tears. "I promise, Naruto. I'll come back."

* * *

Sasuke was tediously laying new hardwood flooring in his dinning room when Kakashi appeared. He wasn't _necessarily_ surprised until his former sensei decided to forgo his typical 'Yo' and skip straight to picking him up by his collar. 

Rather than instantly breaking the grip on his person, Sasuke decided to give his mentor the benefit of the doubt. Instead, he grasped Kakashi's wrist in a subtle warning and raised a single brow.

The normally laid-back expression had disappeared from Kakashi's features and was replaced by a uncharacteristically serious one. When he spoke, it was with a strange tone. "Sasuke. I may have failed you at some point as a sensei or as a mentor or father figure...I'm not sure exactly when you stopped listening to me, trusting me." He trailed off for a moment and got a faraway look in his sole visible eye. Snapping back to the issue at hand, he tightened his grip on Sasuke's shirt front. "But you _will not_ make the same mistake that I did. I won't let you."

When it occurred to him what Kakashi was saying, Sasuke's already slightly rankled look increased ten-fold. "I won't have this conversation again. She and I--"

Shaking the younger man, Kakashi yelled into his face, "Bullshit! You didn't separate on even terms! Look at yourself! You're still moping around this graveyard feeling sorry for yourself. And she, she's heartbroken...but there isn't a gods-damned thing she can do about it. You won't even _look at her_, you immature little shit!"

Sasuke was stunned for a moment by his usually mellow teacher's sudden anger. But the shock wore off quickly and he was out of the Jounin's grip in an instant. Jerking his dark shirt back into order, he stepped back and growled, "What goes on between she and I is our business. We're not Genin anymore, Kakashi."

His eye narrowed to a near slit. "Then stop acting like one, Uchiha."

Turning away from his former teacher, Sasuke took up his hammer and another board. As he crouched to lay the piece of flooring, he spoke tersely, "She and--"

With a growl, Kakashi kicked the board from the other man's hand. "Say her name, dammit! This is what I'm talking about!"

As the plank clattered loudly at the other end of the room, Sasuke stood slowly, every line of his body screaming _rage_. Without meeting his sensei's gaze, he spoke. "_Sakura _and I are both fully grown adults. What we do or do not do is not for you _or anyone else_ to decide."

"So breaking the heart of the girl you've loved _since you were thirteen_ is alright so long as no one calls you out on it? Is that the kind of bullshit you're feeding me?"

Sasuke's eyes bled to red as his glare locked onto Kakashi. Stalking forward until he was toe to toe with the older man, he snarled, "Do _not_ presume to tell me how I feel."

Kakashi leaned until his nose nearly touched his former student's. "I don't have to presume anything, Sasuke."

From the day he and Sakura had separated, Rookie Nine and their allies had done nothing but dog him. Sasuke was fed up. A shout of rage escaped from the Uchiha's throat as he shoved Kakashi back violently. "Fuck you, old man. You made your own mistakes, don't push them off on me! Sakura is _**NOT**_ Rin!"

Rather than rise to the barb, Kakashi hung his head and murmured, "She's leaving."

Confusion mingled with the blatant anger on Sasuke's features until he asked, "What?"

When Kakashi responded, he sounded as though the weight of the world was lain upon his shoulders. "Sakura is leaving Konoha. For good."

The confusion receded as a confident smirk fell onto his face. "You're lying. She would never--"

The elite-Jounin just shook his head. "I stopped by the hospital before I came here. Tsunade says she resigned yesterday, she was headed to see Naruto when I last saw her."

Sasuke's smirk evaporated instantly. A little more hesitantly than before, he said, "The idiot would--"

"You and I both know that all she has to do is shed a few tears and Naruto will do anything." Kakashi stared into the last Uchiha's eyes as the full scope of what was happening occurred to the younger man. "Now tell me you don't love her, Sasuke. I'll leave and never bother you again."

The Uchiha rocked back on his heels, pressing his hands into twin fists at his sides. He said nothing.

Kakashi gave the young ninja a disgusted look and turned to leave, parting with the words, "Then you don't deserve her."

Before he could walk out the shouji, Sasuke sped past him, kusanagi in hand. The dark haired male was headed for the gates.

Kakashi's slacking posture returned as he heaved a sigh of relief. But, rather than burying his nose in his perverted little book, the man looked to the sky. He remained that way for a moment before strolling away, lost in his memories.

* * *

The sound of breaking glass didn't startle Naruto into looking up from his paperwork. He just continued stamping forms and spoke to Sasuke without facing him. "She's already gone." 

The Uchiha stepped up to his rival's desk, placing one hand on its surface and leaning forward until the blonde looked up. "And just what did she come here to ask you?"

Blue eyes met black. "She wanted to be granted permission to leave Konoha as a Sannin. I gave it to her."

Sasuke snarled. "Why would you do that?"

A dark look fell over the normally cheerful man's face. "Because she deserves to find out if there's something more out there for her than being your shadow."

Saying nothing, Sasuke pivoted and made to jump back out the window he'd come in through. A kunai thudded into the sill next to his hand and gave him pause. The dark haired man turned to face his former teammate.

Naruto enunciated very clearly when he said, "This--conflict--between you two has to be delt with...and Sasuke?" Finally directing his gaze toward his best friend, the young Hokage added, "If you hurt her...don't bother to walk back into this Village. You'll be dead to me."

Without another word, Sasuke leaped out the broken window, using chakra enhanced jumps to make his way quickly toward the gates of Konoha.

* * *

Sakura was floating on air. She felt free for the first time since she was thirteen. It was up to her to choose what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go. The omnipresent obligation as a Leaf kunoichi was no longer present. A carefree smile found its way to her lips as she skipped a little, her pack and summoning scrolls bouncing along with her gait. 

She was passing The Bench when the last voice she wanted to hear sounded from behind her. "_Sakura_."

Shoulders freezing at the sound of her name, she didn't turn. Instead she spoke to the empty road before her, letting the soft breeze carry her voice back to her former lover. "Yes, Sasuke?"

The light clack of his nin-sandals on the stone behind her stopped only a few steps behind her. "What are you doing?"

Her smile reappeared as she glanced to the puffy clouds overhead and responded, "I'm leaving."

"No, you aren't." Sasuke spoke with calm authority and certainty.

Sakura's blood boiled but she still wouldn't face the Uchiha as she hissed, "It's my turn, Sasuke. I'm leaving and maybe I'll be back. Maybe."

A low growl and the sound of his shoes on the path started again, "You're not leaving the Village, Sakura. Don't be stupid."

Twisting to the left to avoid his hand as it grasped at her elbow, Sakura didn't get violent like he'd assumed she would. Instead, she spoke, maddeningly calm, "I am leaving. You can't stop me, I've already been given permission--"

He caught her lower arm in a vice grip as he cut in, "By Naruto? He's not the one you should be asking."

Finally, Sakura's furious eyes met Sasuke's as she spat, "He's the Hokage! Who should I ask? Surely not _you_. You voided any control you held over my decisions a long time ago, Sasuke. It's absolutely none of your gods-damned business what I do now. I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Black eyes bored into the pinkette's emerald ones. He raised his other hand to grip her remaining arm. His voice was so soft she could barely hear him as he whispered, "Marry me."

Sakura threw back her head and laughed until she was light-headed. When she looked back at Sasuke, he was glowering at her rosy face. Still a little giddy, she laughed, "You're joking."

His face set into angry lines, he replied, "I'm not."

"Sasuke, you haven't so much as looked at me since we broke up. Now you want to marry me?," she looked at him frankly, "You're just trying to stop me from leaving and it's not going to work."

Releasing her arms, Sasuke backed off only to stalk up to her again, towering over her. "I mean it. I'm not just trying to keep you here."

The pretty pink flush of Sakura's cheeks drained away. "Stop it, Sasuke! It's not funny anymore! You're being really cruel." Backpedaling away from his taller form, she continued, "You're not going to take this from me. I'm going."

"I said no."

Before he could get a hold of her again, Sakura drew her weapon scroll from her back. Hopping away, she propped the tall seal on the path at her feet. "I'm going and I'll fight you if you won't stand aside."

A metallic sound slithered through the tense air between them as Sasuke drew his kusanagi with a slow grace.

Tipping her chin up, Sakura tossed the scroll into the air, biting her thumb and smearing it across the parchment as it fell. The enormous form of her battleaxe emerged from the seal and she hefted it with eerie ease. Its monstrous form looked out of place on her slim shoulder with only the scrap of pink ribbon at its hilt to mark it as Sakura's.

A cocky grin slid onto Sasuke's thin mouth. "What happens if I win?"

Sakura's smile had a sharp edge as she responded. "If you win, I'll marry you."

When Sasuke shifted his weight, ready to attack, she raised a hand and added, "If I win, you're coming with me. Wherever I want to go."

"Agreed."

* * *

**End of Chapter One: Déjà Vécu **

**Chapter Two: Déjà Senti coming soon. **

**Thank you for reading and please review.**


	2. Déjà Senti

Déjà Vu

Chapter Two: Déjà Senti

* * *

Sasuke's strong, well-bred features curved into a smirk when he felt the air quiver as he drew his kusanagi. He was going to win this fight. Sakura was going to get this stupid idea out of her head, here and now.

Sakura's fine, delicate features smoothed placidly as she hefted her battleaxe. The earth around her quaked as she let the butt of the heavy blade dig into the dirt at her feet. Sasuke wasn't going to stop her, she was leaving.

Nimble fingers freed the guard from the sharp edge, allowing the pink-stained leather to fall to the ground. As she lifted the massive axe again, Sakura slammed her foot calmly into the earth, resulting in an eruption of hard packed soil and rock to spring up. Hopping up to stand atop her man-made hill, the pinkette called, "Come and get me."

The dark haired man didn't hesitate. In an instant, he was charging up the small mountain, only to be driven back by a single wide sweep of Sakura's blade. Her bell-like laughter rang down to his ears and with another swipe at the seal at her feet, she released a rain of tiny nails. The metal spikes landed on the slope of the earthen-works she'd created, making them treacherous. She smiled airily and jibed, "Makibishi, they're the saving grace of med-nin. Just a few of these and I've got myself a fortress."

Sasuke growled under his breath. He'd never thought much of the small weapons before, but they were greatly limiting his options now. His eyes narrowed. Sakura had always been very intelligent and now she had learned to integrate it into her fighting style. She'd gotten much stronger than he'd given her credit for.

Watching as her former teammate sized up his challenge, Sakura frantically planned ahead. She'd done as Tsunade had thought her: she'd used her strengths to her advantage and gained the highground. Rather or not she could hold it remained to be seen.

A few rapid handsigns and a smear of blood on the seal tattoo on his wrist and Sasuke was grasping a fumma shuriken. If he couldn't engage her in hand to hand combat, he'd drive her off her position with a ranged attack. Rotating his wrist vigorously, he got the circular weapon up to speed and released it with a chakra charge.

Sakura just sighed and swung her axe in a lazy arc, crippling the windmill shurikan in a screech of twisting metal. Propping her battleaxe onto a chunk of rock and leaning casually onto it, she rolled her eyes skyward and sang, "That's not gonna work, Sasuke. Ready to just let me leave, yet?"

A darkly amused voice chuckled into her ear, "No."

She hardly had time to body flicker away from his slashing kusanagi and mutter a curse as the blade bit into her trailing sleeve. Sakura mentally berrated herself as she reviewed the seals he'd used to call his fuuma shurikan. How had she not noticed the extra hand signs? A simple substitution jutsu and he'd allowed the double to launch the weapon while he picked his way up her hill from behind. It was so simple that she'd never expected it.

Following closely behind her, Sasuke continued his barrage of slashes, jabs and sweeps. The flustered pinkette parried and danced back, blocking what she could with her axe and forearm guards. Channeling a burst of chakra into her legs, Sakura jumped clear of his reach and perched on a cherry blossom bough. As she tossed the monstrous battleaxe onto her back by its sling, she grabbed a smaller seal from a holster beneath her pseudo-kimono. Quickly activating the seal, she drew twin kodachi and sprang from the branch just in time to avoid a fireball that incinerated the entire tree only seconds later.

Alighting onto the grass a little ways behind the Uchiha, Sakura spun the lightly curved blades in her hands simultaneously and got herself accustomed to their weight. The weapons had been a gift from Tenten in celebration of Sakura being accepted into ANBU as a special tactics med-nin. She couldn't restrain the grin spreading across her face at the sight of the pretty pink ribbon wrapped around the hilt and the elaborate blooms etched into the blade. The weapons mistress had great taste.

Sasuke had turned and was charging her, kusanagi in hand. Narrowing her bottle green gaze, Sakura noted that Sasuke had a very limited supply of weaponry. He had come from his home, unprepared, while she had been armed to the teeth in anticipation of leaving. Another advantage to use. She could afford to keep throwing steel his way until he was forced to yield. A grim look fell across her face as she wondered just how long that would take.

Once he was in range, Sasuke began to swing and Sakura had to focus on the fight at hand. In a flurry of metal and silk, the pinkette wheeled her arms madly in defense and held her position. Crimson-streaked onyx eyes barreled back at her as he leaped back, only to send a tight formation of three shuriken her way. Sakura recognized the style and spun one blade to deflect the small windmills while flashing the other behind her back to guard against the katana true Sasuke was striking at her with. Pirouetting, she held the kodachi twin horizontally and slashed out from her center of gravity, forming a cyclone of wind-based jutsu and flashing steel. The multiple kage buushin Sasuke had created were ripped apart.

Stunned, Sasuke was blown back, dropping his kusanagi to brace himself against the sharp gusts. Singed sakura blossoms whipped past him on the violent breeze, he watched with watering eyes as Sakura emerged from the maelstrom like an angry goddess. Her long pink locks were escaping her golden pins and the flowing sleeves and half train of her pseudo-kimono flowed around her like a silken cloud. She was amazing. He had no idea that she'd mastered wind elemental jutsu.

Flipping her hands quickly through a series of signs, Sasuke barely had time to take up his katana as Sakura descended on him. As she flipped down from above, diving straight for him, she freed the axe again from her back and cleaved it down onto her opponent. When he dodged, she allowed the massive weapon to sink almost half way into the earth, jackknifing her body from her headlong position to land agilely on the hilt of the axe. Drawing the kodachi from her elaborate obi, she gripped one, charging it with chakra and chucked it with monstrous strength at Sasuke's foot.

Black eyes widened as the thin blade rocketed toward him too fast for him to avoid, driving through his nin-sandal at the toe and pinning his left foot to the ground. As the pearly pink ribbon swirled at the hilt with the shock of the kodachi's impact, Sakura flung herself from her perch and onto her opponent once more. This time when she reached the maximum height of her leap, she drew back her left sleeve to reveal a senbon launcher. Grasping the trigger-string, she pulled it back and released. Five poisoned needles shot forth, only three finding their marks in Sasuke's left arm. The senbon sank in at the wrist, inner elbow and collarbone.

The Uchiha muttered a low curse as he felt his left arm, from his fingertips to his pectoral, go instantly numb. Utilizing his remaining mobility, he overextended his body backward, just barely grasping the hilt of his wind-thrown kusanagi. As he jerked the long blade free, he brought if forth just in time to see his former lover press two fingers to her lips in a serpent seal as her weight impacted his body. For a moment, everything was still.

As time sped back up, Sasuke looked down to the kunoichi collapsed against him. A spine-tingling gurgle rose from the pinkette's lips and Sasuke's adrenaline pumped body took a moment to realize just what was happening. Blood was pouring from the corner of Sakura's lips as she stared wide-eyed at him.

Something cold and hard dropped into Sasuke's gut as he looked down at the blade in his hand. The cold steel was channeling warm life-blood from where it impaled Sakura's shoulder. He'd hit a major artery. _No no no no no NO! _Her green eyes were glassing over now as she choked, coughing as more red fluid flowed from her mouth, staining her teeth a ghastly pink. Tears were pooling in her eyes now, as she stared unblinkingly at him.

Pulling the blade free, he flung it aside carelessly as he pressed both hands against the wound. His usually stoic tone was desperate as he half-yelled, "Heal yourself."

When she didn't respond, he pushed his hands more firmly against her shoulder and neck. "_Sakura_. Heal yourself **NOW**! This isn't fucking funny."

Sakura just smiled strangely and tried to pull herself away from him. He didn't get the chance to say anything further as a precise strike at the pressure point in his neck knocked him out instantly.

* * *

Sakura watched with grim satisfaction as Sasuke fell to her Genjutsu. The simple Hell Viewing Technique had worked perfectly. She had utilized her precision chakra control to drag the process out, using a henge to disguise the tell-tale swirling leaves as cherry blossoms. At the last moment, she'd formed the final seal: the serpent. The Uchiha never knew that the illusion hit him. As far as he was concerned, whatever he was seeing was reality. 

She frowned as she recalled the terrified look in her former lover's eyes as she rendered him unconscious. Just what had he seen?

Shrugging, she decided she'd never know unless he someday decided to tell her. Sakura refocused on the task at hand. She needed to gather her arsenal and get out of Konoha. The sedatives that she'd dosed him with via the senbon would last about three days. Sakura wanted to be well into another Country by then. As she slipped the edge guard back onto her battleaxe and resealed it, she reflected on her stipulation. Perhaps now Sasuke would understand what it felt like to be promised one thing only to be denied it in the same breath.

Crushing the sympathy and regret welling in her heart viciously, Sakura tugged her kodachi from the dirt and sealed them once more as well. Once her weapons were secured and stored again, she cast one last glance to the still body on The Bench. History was repeating, and now it was her turn.

Sakura Haruno walked through the gates of Konoha without looking back.

* * *

Tsunade was half buzzed and bored when Sasuke woke screaming three days later. The busty blonde watched with a lackadaisical expression as the last Uchiha fought the restraints on his arms and legs with near abandon. His calls were beginning to give her a headache. 

Rolling her eyes, she stood and surged a bit of her chakra into the struggling man's chest, forcibly calming him. "She's alive, you idiot."

Black eyes flickered back and forth rapidly, absorbing his surroundings. In a raspy voice, he demanded, "Where is she? Who healed her? Who knocked me out?"

A belly-laugh tumbled from the tipsy Sannin. "THE Sasuke Uchiha: tricked by a D-level Genjutsu! I never thought I'd see the day!...The henge on the leaves was a stroke of genius though, I'll give her that. She was an excellent student. Always so eager to learn and grow..."

An angry snarl ripped from the bound man. "Who saw the fight and let her leave?"

Snorting, Tsunade replied, "Naruto of course. You didn't think he'd let you really stop her, did you? The fool just hoped maybe you'd be able to 'talk it out' or some nonsense."

Sasuke's efforts to free himself doubled. "Let me up. Now."

The elderly woman just laughed outright again and said, "Not before you and I have a little talk."

"Absolutely not. I'm going to find Sakura--"

"What? So you can drag her back here by the hair and make her your wifey?," Tsunade took a deep chug of the sake bottle in her hand, "I don't think so, Caveman. You had your shot. You fucked that up for yourself."

His eyes bled red as he pooled his chakra for a last ditch attempt to break the bonds. As his fists began to glow blue, he rasped, "You have _no fucking idea_ what you're talking about."

With another slug of alcohol, the Sannin giggled and pointed at the furious man. "Oh! But I do! I was there the night everything happened, Sasuke. I was the one who held her while she sobbed her gods-damned eyes out."

"SHUT UP!" As Sasuke reared up and at the drunken blonde, a loud electrical _zap_ was heard and he fell back stiff and frozen.

Tapping the restraints with the bottom of her bottle, Tsunade muttered, "Those cuffs are brilliant. Designed to hold non-compliant elite-nin. Sakura was the one who thought them up."

She sighed as she gazed out the window at the opposite side of the room. "You really don't deserve her, you know."

Only the sound of his heavy, furious breathing answered her. So she continued, "But she loves you. So much..."

Breathing deeply through her nose, Tsunade paced closer to hover directly over Sasuke as she said, "She figured out how to fix her problem. It took her almost seven months of constant study, experimentation and procedures...but, she did it."

Red-streaked eyes widened and the muscles of his face strained as the tried to speak, but the cuffs' effects were still hindering him.

"If you loved her, you never would have let her leave you that night. She's already so self-sacrificing, but...walking away from you was the hardest decision she ever made. I was afraid she'd just slip away. After all that time she chased after you, you were finally together and..." A hateful expression stole over the old woman's face. "She just wanted to curl up and die. She felt like such a failure. And you did nothing to stop her, never said a word--"

As Tsunade's voice spiralled in his mind, Sasuke was overwhelmed with memories of the night that had turned his world upside down.

_It was three days before Christmas. Sasuke remembered because Sakura had insisted that they put up a little evergreen tree in what she called the 'family room' of the Compound. (His parents had always just called it the parlor, but he liked her term so much better.) Multicolored lights were strung from every branch of the little pine until it fairly drooped from the weight of all its adornments lain on it at the pinkette's enthusiastic hands. Any other time he would have called it gaudy, but the way it lit up the dark house when she went home at night made him sit and stare rather than scorn it._

_She was assigned an urgent mission in Cloud that day. It should have been Tenten's assignment, but the weapons mistress had been injured in a failed assassination mission and was bed-ridden. Sakura went in her stead._

_Neji was off that night, not used to the med-nin's defensive style of combat. He was so attuned to Tenten's offensive preferences that he had let a enemy-nin slip past him, sure that Tenten would take care of it. Only it was not Tenten paired off with him that night, it was Sakura. _

_The error had near fatal consequences._

_Sakura had been in the middle of healing Hinata when the man bore down on them. She took the blow for the two months pregnant kunoichi, catching the kunai low in her belly._

_Any other time, any other day and the med-nin could have healed it in an instant. But she had exhausted her chakra on the Hyuuga heiress, and in assuring her that her fetus was fine after a viscous kick._

_Sakura had fallen moments later and was carried back to Konoha by a shame-faced Neji and a sobbing Hinata. By the time Tsunade had reached her protege the damage was done. Sakura was barren. _

_Sasuke could still remember the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs after her sensei delivered the news. He had arrived in time to hear from a visibly shaking Naruto who had been the cause of the mistake. He had disappeared in a blur of pain and anger._

_Neji was admitted thirty minutes later and treated for excessive concussive injury. The Hyuuga didn't wake for two weeks...and when he did, he refused to name the culprit._

_Sakura knew what Sasuke had to say, to do when he returned...but couldn't bring himself to voice or act out. So she cleared the room and asked for Sasuke alone. When he entered the room she explained slowly, haltingly what both of them already knew. _

_If she was barren, she couldn't carry on the Uchiha Clan with him. They couldn't marry. Tears had streamed in a neverending torrent down her bloodless cheeks as she told him that she no longer wanted to be with him, that she understood. The sound of her hiccups and sobs interspersed in the speech made him leave before he could break down on the spot. Before he could rip apart the first thing he got his hands on. Because he just didn't want to revive the Uchiha clan anymore if it meant betraying her. _

_So instead he flash stepped out of the ward, the hospital, back to the Uchiha District where he proceeded to decimate the nursery he had been preparing as a surprise for Sakura. He had planned to reveal it to her as her Christmas gift...to propose the same time. (He remembered his beaming mother telling him as a child that it was how his father had proposed.) The once cheery walls were stripped to the studs and the bassinet lay shattered on the deck outside, snow slowly accumulating on it. Toys and tiny articles of clothing sprawled hap-hazard throughout the devestation. Naruto and Kakashi had contributed plushies and blankets until the room was perfect, until she would have loved it...Sasuke couldn't stand to look at it any longer._

_He lay, half-drunk with his hands bleeding on the floor in the parlor, staring at the sad little tree that she had put together for their home. The home that could no longer exist._

When he refocused on the present, the cuffs on his arms and legs had been removed and Tsunade was no where to be seen. Sasuke didn't bother to use the door as he escaped through the window, rushing to the Uchiha Complex, gathering clothing, scrolls and armaments. As he turned to leave, he paused, stalking to his bedroom and withdrawing a small box from the top drawer of his dresser. Turning the container over in his palm, he hefted it once and tucked it into his pack. Without another moment's hesitation, he sped to the Hokage's office. He was going after Sakura. They had tortured themselves long enough.

* * *

**End Chapter Two: Déjà Senti **

**Chapter Three: Déjà visité coming soon**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**


	3. Déjà Visité

Déjà Vu

Chapter Three: Déjà Visité

* * *

A loud crash sounded as the heavy wooden door of the Hokage's office slammed open.

Glancing up momentarily from the form he was reading, Naruto grinned, "Ah, good. You used the door this time. I've only just had the window--"

"Why did you let her leave?" Sasuke let the heavy pack in his hands fall to the ground as he advanced into the room, cutting the seated man off.

The young Hokage sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand and sprawling the other over his discarded documents, "We had this conversation, Sasuke. She deserves her shot at making it on her own after all that's happened."

A solid _thump_ sounded as a shurikan embedded itself between the blond's fingers on the desk. Tugging the weapon free, Naruto spun it absently around his pointer finger as he observed his former teammate. The tall, lean man was taut with roiling emotions as he stood an arm's length from the desk. His hands were fisted at his sides and his head was hung low, allowing his longer hair to heavily shadow his face.

Without raising his bowed head, Sasuke rumbled, "She _belongs _here with me."

Standing and stabbing the weapon into the surface under his hand, the shorter man spoke just softer than a shout. "You didn't want her. She had _no _obligation to you."

Red eyes snapped up to lock onto raging blue ones, "I'VE _WANTED_ HER SINCE WE WERE THIRTEEN!"

When Naruto shifted his weight backward, stunned by Sasuke's sudden honesty, the Uchiha advanced. Leaning across the space between them, he growled, "And ever since we met there's always been _something_ keeping us from being together. Always. I tried to make things right when I came back! You know I did--"

"Sure! And then you abandoned her! She--"

Slamming his fist onto the desk, Sasuke shouted, "You don't know what you're talking about! SHE LEFT ME!"

Naruto didn't respond. He, along with the rest of Hidden Leaf, had always assumed that Sasuke had broken things off with Sakura when she was rendered barren. He didn't know what to say.

Swiping his hands through his choppy, shoulder-length hair, Sasuke continued, "That night, at the hospital...I knew I had to--but I couldn't make myself do it. She told me that she understood, that she hoped I was happy. I--"

The blond was back in full-swing, "Of course she did! She's Sakura, you idiot! She'd do ANYTHING for you. What was she going to do? Make you choose?" Naruto scoffed and sneered, "Why would she do that, just to watch as you chose the Clan, _chose yourself_ over her again?"

Untangling his hands from his hair, the Uchiha roared, "_**I was going to pick her**_! Damn the Clan!" As he swiped a hand over his face, he muttered again, "Damn the Clan."

Confusion flooded the lighter man's face, "Then why couldn't you just tell her? After all this time..."

Sasuke laughed mirthlessly and stared up at the blank ceiling. "At first? At first I couldn't face her. She wouldn't stop crying and I could never stand seeing--" Cutting himself off, he changed direction, "But then she settled back into her routine. I went to confront her once...at the hospital." A sardonic smile lit his face. "She was talking to some civilian merchant. He was so obviously--" He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought either. He paused for a moment before he continued, "But she looked...so happy for the first time since that night. I couldn't ask her to come back. _I don't deserve her_, Naruto."

The shorter man just smiled encouragingly and shook his head, "You're probably right." Before Sasuke could take that to heart, he added, "But she's loved you from the day you met. We both know that. That should be enough. Someone like her was meant to be happy...made to be, even. If you can give her that, what's stopping you?"

For a moment, the Uchiha was silent and contemplative. Then a true grin spread across his lips as he looked to his best friend. "What's stopping me? A dumb ass Hokage who needs to grant me a Sannin title so I can bring our kunoichi back."

Naruto smiled and shook his fist in mock-anger. "Keep talkin to me like that and you won't go anywhere! I'm the boss-man now!"

* * *

"Hey pretty lady, wanna--"

"No." Sakura didn't so much as turn to acknowledge the person trying to talk to her. Instead, she was slowly evaluating the layout of the large civilian village she'd just walked into. She knew without looking that her flat refusal didn't sit well with the burly man.

His meaty hand on her shoulder sat even worse with the newly named Sannin. A lightening fast tug and slight shifting of her weight later and the thug was laid out on the street in front of her. Customers in the market stopped to watch as four well-built men squared off one petite, nobly dressed female. Cheers went up from the assembled crowd as the first man to charge the wandering kunoichi was brutally swung back to take out two of his companions. Only one man was left and the woman had only executed a single maneuver.

Centering her weight, Sakura pushed a surplus of chakra into her fists for show and smirked when they glowed a misty green. As she glared into the obviously terrified man's beady eyes, she jerked forward, faking a right hook. The man screamed, scrambling back and covering his face and head. A laugh rose from the onlookers and Sakura smiled and bowed mockingly two or three times. Without a flicker in her grin, she caught the shiv the leader of the gang was attempting to stab her in the back with, ripping it manually from his grip.

A chakra-less kick to his chest sent him reeling backward into an empty vending stall, his girth crushing the wooden structure as he fell. Strolling slowly over to the stricken man, Sakura let him see as she crushed the solid metal effortlessly with her monstrous strength and dropped the hunk of steel with a clatter onto the pavement next to his head. As she propped one strappy-sandaled foot on the collapsed stall, she leaned slightly to mutter, "Leave this town and never come back. Understood?"

When the bald man nodded vigorously, Sakura smirked and stepped back, watching with satisfaction as the man and his companions ran from the market toward the city gates.

"Miss!"

"Ma'am"

"My lady!"

Stooping down to retrieve the ball of metal that had once been a dagger, Sakura turned to the eager-faced townspeople and said, "Will one of you be so kind as to direct me to your village's elders? I'm sure there was a bounty on that gang." She smiled as she finished, "I'd like to collect it."

* * *

The board of elders for the village were a bunch of bumbling idots. One man in particular, by the name of Ken, was especially abrasive. He flat out refused to believe that someone _like her _had taken on the bandits single handed and won.

The infuriated pinkette mumbled about chauvinist men, both ninja and civilian, before lifting her head proudly and reciting, "I am Sakura Haruno, Sannin-level kunoichi of the Hidden Village in the Leaves. Aprentice of the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, the Godime Tsunade and teammate to present Hokage Naruto Uzamaki and Sasuke Uchiha." Looking frankly at the band of dodgy old men, she leveled, "Handling a rag-tag group of thugs is well within my ability."

Ken huffed peevishly and sneered, "That 'rag-tag group of thugs' has been marauding our city for months. I'm sorry that such _paltry resistance_ is below you, but as you can see," he spread his arms encompassingly, "we are a non-ninja village. We have little defense against groups such as theirs."

Sakura grinned brilliantly, "Precisely. Which is why I'd like to offer my services as a free-lance kunoichi here in your fine city."

The wrinkled visage of the elder crumpled further as he squinted at the pinkette and asked shrewdly, "And what, dare I say, is in this agreement for you?"

Rocking her weight into her heels and crossing her arms behind her back, Sakura hummed as if in thought. Intelligent green eyes swept over the row of old men as she replied, "Aside from the pleasure of doing kind deeds?" She lifted her eyebrows engagingly before lilting, "_Well_...I couldn't help but notice that this is a flourishing port city. Surely you could spare a few things here and there in return for my assistance?"

The council leader's smile was thin as he acquiesced. "Whatever you'd like, within reason, would gladly be given to you in return for your _services_."

Pointedly ignoring the barb, Sakura bowed slightly and grinned, "Excellent."

* * *

Gifts for members of Rookie Nine and their sensei began trickling into Konoha. An adorable, over-sized frog plushie for Naruto and Hinata's newborn daughter, a packet of rare seeds for Ino's engagement announcement, a finely crafted foreign weapon called a 'claymore' for Tenten...the list went on and on.

Each was accompanied by a long, caring letter from Sakura herself, though in none of them did she divulge precisely where she was staying. Instead she asked after the health of her friends, wished them luck or congratulations in turn. The vague content of the notes kept Naruto off of her trail for more than a year, until a tiny mistake gave him the break he'd been waiting for.

A potted herb, meant for Tsunade, had been her slip-up. When Shizune had absently mentioned that the particular plant was difficult to come by, as they had to be shipped as seeds from a distant continent and grown upon arrival, a crack-pot plan formed in the young Hokage's mind.

Ino Nara had been more than happy to run a test on the soil in the pot, checking it against samples from her suppliers' shipments. (Anything to get billboard-forehead back here to see my ring!) The result had pointed to a large, seaside civilian village in Waterfall Country. It was a longshot, but it was better than the method Sasuke was using now: traveling from Hidden Village to Hidden Village.

As he sit down to pen an urgent massive to his best friend, Naruto couldn't help but add a post sentiment:

_Go and get your girl. She's in Kuni, in Wave Country. P.S. You've always deserved her, Idiot._

* * *

Sasuke was wading his way through an afternoon sandstorm in the Land of Wind when a carrier hawk screamed overhead. Shielding his eyes with a hand, he squinted up into the glaring sun, watching the shadowy form of the bird slowly spiralling down to meet him.

When the hawk finally touched down on his extended forearm, he worked the scroll attached to his foot free calmly. Naruto had been sending him updates about the events in Konoha, but the hurried scrawl of this short letter made him curious.

Unfurling the note, a slow grin spread across the Uchiha's face as he skimmed the letter, tapping the last line with a finger as he changed his bearing.

He was headed for Wave Country.

* * *

"Hey! Miss Kunoichi? Lady?"

Sakura slowed her gait, allowing a toothily grinning girl of ten or so to catch up with her. Raising her eyebrows and smiling slightly, she prompted, "Yes?"

The girl fidgeted, twisting her hands for a moment before hurridly asking, "Hey, so-when-you-go-back-to-your-hidden-village...can-I-come-too?"

When the young Sannin stopped walking altogether, processing what had been said. A moment later, she crouched to be at level with the child, who begged, "Please? I really wanna grow up and be strong like you! But this stupid Country doesn't have a Hidden Village, so..."

Sakura smiled gently, "I understand. It's just...I'm not going home right now. I might not be going back there at all, really--"

The girl gasped. "But why?! If I were as awesome as you, I'd be doin' important missions all the time! Savin' people and stuff, not hangin' around this dumb old city."

Ruffling the girl's distinct mint green hair, the kunoichi joked, "But if I was off doing big important missions, who'd look out for this place?"

The girl seemed to ponder for a moment before standing up straight and repsonding, "I would. I'm gonna grow up to be a strong kunoichi, just like you, but I'll come back here and protect this Country. My name's Kasumi, but you'll hear about me soon enough!"

Sakura smiled wider at the determined look in the girl's pretty blue eyes and agreed, "I'm Sakura and I'm sure you'll grow up to be much stronger than I am."

Kasumi flashed the older girl a thumbs-up and turned to leave when Sakura stopped her. "Wait, Kasumi-chan!"

When the girl turned back, Sakura presented her with a shiney new kunai. "To get you started."

The little girl was ecstatic. "Thanks Miss Sakura!"

With a sad smile, Sakura watched Kasumi disappear down the crowded streets of the port city. It wasn't so long ago that she was that young and idealistic. As she turned to make her way back to her apartment, she sincerely hoped that things went smoother for the young girl than they had for her.

* * *

As the bright sun of midday gave way to evening, a rainstorm blew onto the island. Sakura sat in her small apartment, watching the clouds roll in off the water. A cool breeze rustled through the assorted potted plants on her balcony and she slowly sipped her tea as she thought about Konoha.

It had been almost a year and a half since she left as a Sannin and she was homesick. The freedom of being able to come and go as she pleased was wonderful, but the frequent rains and sound of waves weren't something that she could quite get used to. She missed the sound of wind through ancient trees and the bustle of busy streets.

Setting her teacup down, she resolutely made her way to her bedroom. She was going out tonight.

* * *

A few hours later, Sakura had showered and donned what she liked to think of as her Sannin gear. It consisted of a pink and red patterned silk kimono-esque top with belled sleeves and a half-train that fell to her knees along with black wrappings, armguards and shorts. Rather than traditional nin-sandals, she wore a more feminine style that her shishou had given to her for her twentieth birthday. Her still relatively short hair was caught back in a messy style with golden pins and a handful of red barrettes. The clothing, with its blatant weapons holsters, made her look like a lady kunoichi.

Inspecting her reflection in a mirror, she convinced herself once again that she wanted to go out and have a good time. To forget about being homesick. After all, she had a point to prove and running home as soon as she got a little bored wasn't going to get it done.

The pinkette set her features into a determined mask as she stepped out of her apartment, locking the door behind her. As she opened her pretty parasol to keep the light rain off her styled hair, she wondered once more how all of her friends back in Konoha were doing. Naruto and Hinata's child, Tsukiko, had already celebrated her first birthday and she had yet to ever meet her Godmother. With a pang of regret, Sakura promised herself that she'd find out from her Hokage friend when Sasuke would be away from the Village on a mission and drop by, if only to meet her Goddaughter.

The light click of her heeled sandals and the tempo of the falling water droplets distracted the young Sannin from the additional set of footsteps rapidly approaching her. In fact, she was caught off guard when a low baritone called, "Are you ready to come home yet?"

Her back went ram-rod straight. How had he found her? Rotating slowly to face Sasuke, she propped her umbrella on her shoulder and replied, "No. And I won't be for quite some time. Harassing me won't make me come back any sooner, you know."

Tipping his wide-brimmed hat back to reveal his haggard, but still handsome face, he replied, "I think you've been gone long enough."

Green eyes narrowed at his audacity and she gripped her parasol tighter as she told him, "Not everything is about what you think or want, Uchiha." Without waiting for an answer, Sakura turned back the way she'd been headed and began walking once more.

A slow laugh rumbled from the tall man's chest as he let his hat fall back into place. Following along behind her, he said nothing further.

The pinkette frowned at the puddle-ridden stone path ahead of her and grumbled to herself. A sudden smirk grew across her face. If he wanted to be her shadow, so be it. She was going to make it miserable for him.

A pretty smile at the doorman and she strolled right into the hottest club in the city. The red eyed glare of the man in her wake had a similar result, though for a completely different reason.

Seating herself on the first open barstool, she carefully folded her parasol and leaned it against the bar at her feet. When the bartender turned to take her order, she asked sweetly for the strongest beverage he had. Sasuke's disapproving frown did nothing but strengthen her resolve. She was going to get drunk as hell.

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was pissed. Roayaly pissed. For the last three hours, he'd watched the girl he'd known since they were Genin get as drunk as humanly possible, which wasn't _horrible _per se. She was of age and an awfully funny drunk (he'd forgotten that she snorted when she was tipsy), but watching every man in the vicinity begin to circle like scavengers was really beginning to wear thin. After a few shots of liquid courage, the especially brave ones were confident enough to brave the crimson gaze of the strange man sitting next to the 'total babe.'

Each one of them was happily entertained by the buzzed pinkette until they invariably said something stupid. Sasuke couldn't tamp down the smile that came to his face as the man who asked if her clothing would 'look as good on his floor as it did on her' had his roaming hand broken. Thoroughly. But, even her outright violence hadn't been enough to fend off the present guy, however, and this one seemed decent enough not to say anything unfortunate. Which led him back to just why he was pissed.

Sakura was laughing loudly, leaning heavily on the broad frame of the metal-worker who'd struck up a surprisingly coherent conversation with the female Sannin about the senbon seal he'd noticed on her wrist. A few moments later, their banter had dissolved into weapon-related humor and the inebriated pinkette was virtually sprawled in the large man's lap.

A low growl wiped the smile off of the civilian's fairly attractive face. His watery brown eyes widened almost comically as he was transfixed by the swirling pinwheels of Sasuke's Sharingan. His heavy frame slid sideways off of his stool in something akin to slow motion. Before his massive shoulders even hit the ground, he was out cold and Sakura had wheeled around and begun to pound vainly on the Uchiha's chest.

In a slurred voice she ranted, "Dammit Sasuke! I liked that one! Why won't you let me be," she hiccuped, "happy?"

Sasuke just grasped her struggling form by the arm and led her calmly from the club.

When he didn't so much as acknowledge her question, the pinkette railed, "I mean, why can't you let me have some fun for fuck's sake?" She giggled to herself as she shouted, "S'not like I can get _pregnant_!"

Her cloaked escort froze up at her words. He hissed, "Don't joke about shit like that, Sakura, it's not funny."

As they walked slowly down the rain-soaked side streets, she just waved and continued, "Why not? I think it's hilarious! I mean, I finally got you to realize I existed and BAM! All goes to shit! I think it's funny."

Sasuke just clenched his jaw. "I always knew you existed, Sakura."

Ripping her arm away from her guide, the young Sannin groused, "Whatever. Point is my life sucks. Period. No matter how hard I work or train or study, nothing ever just works out!" She spun and jumped in a puddle. "Hell, now I can't even have kids...I always wanted a family."

Watching her shoulders drop, Sasuke stepped up and grabbed her arm, leading her again. After a moment of silence, he ventured, "When I was still in Konoha...Tsunade told me you came up with a method to cure your...problem."

A shocked look fell across the drunken woman's face. She whispered, "How...? I didn't tell..." With a loud growl she pulled herself away from Sasuke again. She hissed, "So that's why you proposed before I left, huh? I get my childbearing back and I'm desirable again? Like a uterus for rent? Well, fuck you!"

That said she spun, swayed alarmingly and proceeded to walk the wrong way. Growling to himself, he cut the furious girl off. "I wanted to marry you before that, Sakura. I was going to propose that Christmas Day."

Her tense muscles went slack. Tearfully, she asked, "You what?"

Growing uncomfortable in the presence of her tears, he rushed, "I was going to propose to you in the nursery. I had it all ready. But that night--and..."

Before she could start crying in earnest, he took her face between his hands and told her, "I was going to choose you over reviving the Clan, Sakura. I promise, I was."

Shaking her head as tears ran down her flushed face, Sakura couldn't speak. She finally choked, "But you w-wouldn't e-even loo-k at me-e. I th-th--"

Sasuke growled and interrupted, "Because you kept crying when you saw me and I couldn't stand to wait and watch. By the time you calmed down, I thought...I thought you'd moved on."

A watery laugh bubbled from the kunoichi, "I c-could never move on, Sas-Sasuke-kun.Tha's why I le-eft." She paused for a moment to stymie her tears and whisper, "I couldn't watch you marry someone else. It would've killed me."

It was Sasuke's turn to shake his head, "I wouldn't have ever married anyone else."

Sakura hiccuped as she tried to laugh happily and threw her arms around Sasuke's neck.

Slipping his hand down into the pocket of his loose hakamas, he pulled free the little box that had been sitting in his dresser-drawer since the Christmastime two years before. He carefully pulled her arms back and watched her confused expression as he knelt on the wet street, still supporting her. Flipping open the tiny ring box to reveal the Uchiha diamond and ruby engement ring, he asked, "Will you marry me, Sakura Haruno?"

Her face numb from shock and crying, Sakura could hardly feel the smile she knew she was beaming. She could only nod and cling to him when he stood, slipping the ring onto her finger.

When she finally regained her voice, she asked, "Sasuke? How am I going to explain to our children that you proposed to me in the middle of Wave Country while I was drunk off my ass?"

Sasuke decided it was a fitting conclusion after their turbulent relationship, and told her so. Sakura just laughed and said any children of theirs would understand.

* * *

**End Chapter 3: Déjà Visité**

**Epilouge: Déjà Vu is coming soon**

**Thanks for reading and please review.**


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